in such an early song

howdy pop pickers


not a great deal, look you see, to be sure. i've just noted (observed) that i have not honoured my commitment to not have something bowie related each and every month.

i'm uncertain if i like this, but all the same this caught my eye on my roaming of the internet. truly, it would seem to originate (in terms of provenance) from an American magazine (New York, maybe, specifically) published in 1981. and why not.

meanwhile, mindful of today ostensibly being halloween, or whatever, here you go. not sure who needs the credit for noticing this and putting this together, but whoever you are thank you indeed for placing it on the internet.

the great Kubrick appears to have "borrowed" something, then. or paid "homage". oh. well, in the words of Bono, every artist is a cannibal, every poet is a thief, all kill their inspiration, then sing about their grief. maybe.




be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

sheet

greetings


and so halloween, look you see. quite a curious bone of contention this is here in the UK, for frankly baffling reasons.

there are one or two - and i attribute this to the short term nostalgia and limited reminiscing so popular in modern society - who claim that halloween is just "an American thing", and that, under the terms of the English way of doing things, this was not celebrated or marked in the UK until the last few years.

utter, utter nonsense. i was very much here, in the 70s and 80s, growing up. we absolutely went and did halloween, all that "trick or treat" stuff. i get that some in our society are anti-American (for whatever reason) and thus seek to blame anything they do not particularly care for on some American influence, but they are off the mark with this. true, yes, it probably was something of an American thing whenever it started being marked or "done" here, but that was 40 odd years ago. hardly a "new craze to follow" on these shores, then.

speaking of America (at least i was), behold the above, for the text around it is the excuse to show it off here on my blog. a quite new and i have a feeling good friend from America took the time and trouble to post this to me, which was most kind.

one (possibly) interesting aspect of this is that, so far as i am aware, we here in England (possibly the wider UK) do not have a range of halloween celebratory cards to send or receive. this is rather unusual, to say the very least, for if you to any relevant or suitable store for such things you would find a card available to buy for pretty much any other instance.

no, not halloween as such (per se), just something i noted (observed) (and documented, obviously) on my travels. who is it that can tell me who i am is a topic i have wrestled with for many years now, several i suppose. by chance i came across some wall art (graffiti) which apparently intended to tell me who or what i am. alas, i cannot work out the last part, so i still do not know. oh. bother.

for some reason there are one or two of you who like seeing images not in the greater glory and good of Commodore 64 mode. i, for one, cannot understand this. but, since you have taken the time to read whatever i put up here, well, go on then.

i am not sure, at all, if the friend who kindly sent this card to me is aware of this blog, or as a consequence seen this. yes, no, maybe would be my most clear answer. well, if the first of those answers, thank you once again!

no, not a lot else i can add here.



be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

cobblestone connoisseur

hey there


on my travels i get to see a fair few peculiarly strange, or strangely peculiar, look you see, things. every now and then such things suggest a compelling reason to share them here, and speculate on the very being of them, or the implications.

quite often - but not exclusively - it is that i bear witness to items discarded by those who have, for reasons of default or design, found themselves living a more nomadic, wandering style of life. some have chosen this way, the majority, you would think, have not. i would not care to get involved with the politics of such, and nor would i propose to give any form of social commentary. my observations, if that is what they are, remain purely face value.

like, for instance, when i see things like this.

yes, no, you are not mistaken. there, in the greater glory and good of Commodore 64 mode, is indeed a discarded (abandoned, if you will) miniature bottle of Jack Daniels. this, i am led to believe, is one of the more aspiration seeking brands of alcohol, as in it is comparatively expensive and drunk by those who wish to conjure an image of being refined, posh and sophisticated.

by no means am i an expert in this (or much of anything, i know), but my basic understanding of what we may term street drinking is that the economics of it all are at the forefront. one would, from sheer necessity, seek the greatest volume of fluids for the minimal of investment. to this extent, i would expect an individual to rather spend the cost of a miniature bottle of Jack Daniels on several litres of high powered yet modestly priced cider. or similar.

this got me thinking. what if some rather incredibly posh people found themselves in a rather unexpected desolate state, making a home where they can rather than the usual comforts of their stately place of residence? a bit like the (proper) film Arthur, i suppose. for such speculative theorising, who better to consider than the poshest possible representative of each of the three main UK political parties?

of course absolutely none of the three above are as cherished, respected, admired, talented or anywhere close to being as liked as Dudley Moore. conversely, almost not all of them are as hated, disliked or treated with contempt as is the case with that utter waste of space which is Russell Brand what starred in the presumably (no one watched it) "remake" of Arthur. but still, the comparison works.

a natural starting point for such idle, and just for pleasure, speculative thinking is of course his excellency, Jacob Rees-Mogg. he is very much the personification of the Conservative Party, and for many further the embodiment of what "posh" actually is under the English way of doing things.

what if he fell from grace and favour? is it that he would insist on finer drinks such as Jack Daniels, or would common sense prevail and he would be content with a 2 litre bottle of cider?

his pedigree and heritage is all Somerset, i think (i am sure that is where the chap is the incumbent representative of the people), so you would think that he would be a natural ally of cider. but yet, no. the dignity and decorum of his posh background, with particular emphasis on his widely undocumented days fagging at some posh public school, probably means that he forsakes cider, seeing it as the privilege and delight of tradesmen and farmers alone. facing a life on the streets, Arthur (proper film one) style, my suspicion is that he would live a life which centred on the procurement and consumption of cooking sherry, should such still actually exist.

Jeremy 'Jezza' Corbyn is a much more difficult prospect to speculate about. despite astonishing, staggering wealth and a most comfortable, luxurious upbringing, he has somehow managed to style himself as a commoner, a "man of the people". or if you will "one of us". credit to him for doing so, by means such as going along with the idea that Glastonbury is a music festival for the people, rather than the lucrative, corporate commercial venture it is.

would Jeremy take to cheaper cider if he and some of his chums were to find themselves on the streets, or would he rather insist on some miniature Jack Daniels to keep him company? rather like his natural soul mate Jacob above, i would think neither. of the many wonderful characteristics of Mr Corbyn, one of the most beloved is his propensity and wish to fight. this, then, is a man who Special Brew, or Spesh, was pretty much invented for. after decking a few cans of Spesh, Jezza would be sufficiently refeshed enough to go and kick off, commencing a rather nasty fight with anyone he could find, including himself.

but what if Mr Corbyn for some (inexplicable) reason found himself living the Arthur life up in Scotland? well, i dare say that they get the Spesh up there, but yes, he would probably be on the Buckfast, or Bucky as it is so affectionately referred to. it is the draw of the Bucky life which takes many to Scotland, irrespective of their destitute status. and why not.

in the interests of fairness i of course have to include a Liberal Democrat here, if even only a theoretical one. early days, yes, there was such a thing as a posh one, in the form of Dr David Owen. i suppose David Steel too, except he was more of a middle class banker with ideas above his station.

so, then, i have had to opt for the near enough is close enough 'Lib Dem' representative, which is Vince Cable. his main qualification for being a politician, and indeed being included here as posh, is that for some inexplicable reason he looks (and indeed dresses) quite like an early 80s South African government minister.

for the most part, the politics of Liberal Democrats is, as widely accepted, denial. present them with something, such as an election, or perhaps referendum, result, and they shall deny that it is so. this gets them a good deal of limited support from various "right on" types, as well as former members of the Labour party.

with this in mind, in an Arthur vision of a future life, i really suspect that Mr Cable would not dink miniature Jack Daniels, or Spesh, or Bucky, or drinking Sherry or even the cider. instead, he would flat refute the suggestion he was drinking anything untoward, limiting his fluid consumption to things like scavenged bottles of just recently expired cough mixture, methylated spirits and, on special occasions, furniture polish. and, well, why wouldn't you?

the subject of miniature Jack Daniels fascinated me still, despite getting some of it out of my system with the above Arthur inspired speculation. it was so that i then decided to consult a chap (Danny asked to remain anonymous, so i didn't mention him) who is both knowledgeable and expert on the subject of this particular drink. his enthusiasm for it is such that i recall fondly one night how he got completely sh!tfaced on it and elected to declare his love for me from the top of some hotel stairs as i made my way down them. several fellow patrons of the hotel were warmed by such a display of affection, but others were not.

anyway, Da..., sorry, my anonymous associate, said that he would "not p!ss about" with miniatures, and you are either decking a full bottle (preferably a litre) of Jack Daniels or you might as well not bother. when i asked if he would at least drink one of them if given to him for free, as a gift perhaps, he said yes, of course.

right, well, i believe that is all i could possibly say on this purely speculative subject. if for some reason you have been giving consideration to this matter, well then i trust this has all given you some further fuel for thought.




be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

decade

hello


normally i would be quite reticent, or at the least reluctant, look you see, to get involved with any sort of "anniversary" celebrations. like most of a same mind, however, exceptions can be made. and what better exception could one make than to recall what would seem to be the last ever on-screen performance by an actor many would consider to be one of the top three ever to play the role of James Bond?

yes, Sean Connery. as October shall soon roll into November, we are - quite remarkably - before the cusp, or on the threshold, of commemorating the 10th anniversary of this fine, most decidedly Scottish, actors' swansong. and what a peculiar one it was, too, to be sure.

whereas some actors aspire to having their final role being the epitome of their career - think Raul Julia, for example, who opted to feature in a movie where he got his f*****g head kicked in by Jean Claude Van Damme before deciding to retire via death - Connery made a statement. it is a clouded statement, certainly, but a statement all the same.

to save you some wear and tear on the keyboard, since you are here, do not bother going off to that google thing. no, i can remind you that Sean Connery's final appearance on screen, back in November 2009, was in an advertisement for a French banking firm called Credit Agricole. a French banking firm that had two values, apparently - green banking and common sense.

how does Connery's performance rate or rank in this advert? before i cloud the milk of your mind with the water of my thoughts, why not watch the advert, in the form of a video (yes, we've got a video) below. click away, and enjoy. but be warned, it's all of 40 seconds, and if you blink you may miss the Connery performance in its entirety.

well, on the plus side one can say that his performance here is not quite so sh!t as it was in, say, The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen, or that rubbish crime one he did with Dustin Hoffman and Ferris Bueller or whatever his real name is. let us be brutally honest, though, this performance does not sit comfortably at all when compared to, say, Highlander, or Zardoz, or them James Bond films, or The Untouchables for that matter.

i would suggest that this advertisement is one of the most truly baffling i have ever seen. there are a couple of reasons for this, but the most pressing is perhaps the one you have. assuming you watched the above. that is of how this advert is, at best, incoherent, in truth, just nonsensical. no clarification is given at all in what "green banking" might be, or what a "return" to "common sense" may involve.

oh, both are reasonably admirable goals or ideals to have, especially when you are trying to promote yourself to a market which is favourable to such things. but just saying it without explaining exactly how you are going to do it does not (or does not if you like typing errors) quite deliver anything.

another baffling element would be who was targeted, exactly. i mean, yes, i remember the advert very well indeed. what i can remember is seeing it only on obscure satellite channels in South Africa, normally after 11pm, possibly closer to 1am. this strikes me as being a peculiar, rather specific bracket they were attempting to catch the attention of. yes, true, they caught mine, but no i do not use a French bank, thanks.

there is every chance, of course, that a (i think) then 6 year old Greta Thunberg saw this advert. maybe her Mum & Dad were massive fans of Outland or similar, and she recognized that nice man out of the film as being the one casually suggesting environmental concerns in consideration of a French bank. who knows, this could well have been the turning point for her.

presumably to try and get money value, or value for money, off of hiring Sean Connery to do the advert, indeed yes, at least one other variation of the advert exists. yes, we have got a video.

which of the two versions is my personal favourite? it is really, really difficult to tell. the best i can do here is apply the logic i would if challenged to name the "best" thing done by someone like Sammy Hagar or, even better in this instance, that horrid Mr Kim Kardassian fellow. yes, that Ed Sheridan works for this example. the answer, then, is the second one, for it is the shortest.

i have every confidence that Sean Connery elected to do this advertisement for purely noble reasons, out of his commitment to the environment to. but also i would expect that he got paid a very great and considerable sum of money for it, too. so much so, of course, that apparently he has had no need to work for the last decade. nice one. well, nice one for him. fans of his performances of course feel the gap, but there you go.

how does this rank in the realm of arguably bizarre celebrity endorsements in advertisements which seem designed to confuse? certainly it is prestigious, capturing as it does the final performance (at time of publication) of a much treasured actor . but it is no, for instance, Japanese whisky advert featuring Glass Eye, now, is it?

for the live of me i cannot imagine all that many will be interested in this. should i be wrong, and at least one or two of you think this is a good idea, posting this, well then nice one.




be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

pension policy drama diversion

hello there


and so it happened again, look you see. once again a not unreasonable pension policy was advertised, so i (along with a few million others) in good faith invested in it. and of course, once again it all turned out to be if not quite a fraud and a sham then at the least somewhat dishonest.

yes. this, but of course, is all about the recent "Euro Millions" pension. undoubtedly you can recall this, but if not it was so that they promoted a policy with a dividend return of £170 million for an initial investment of £2.50. whilst this was a little bit north of what i would have preferred to commit to financially, the lump sum nature of the policy pay out seemed agreeable. investment made, then.

the dishonest, or if you will fraudulent nature of this Euro Millions pension scheme should have been apparent to all of us when the payout was initially delayed. it was with great fanfare that they made announcements of the £170 million being paid out to policy holders on the friday, only for this to be delayed until the following tuesday.

when they did eventually get around to paying out premiums to policy holders, the predictable happened. some sort of small print was in place, naturally, so just the one policy holder got the full pension of £170 million. typical, that.

let it not be said, though, that it was all a complete fraud. there was no "all or nothing" approach, and indeed it was so that some of the pension policy investors got a return on their investment. as luck, or good fortune, would have it, yes, i was one such investor.

should the above look like £3.50 in sterling, well, that is because it is. yes, according to the smallprint on my particular policy - that which "matched" certain numbers on my document - the payout on my investment was £3.50. if you want to dress that up and make it sound good, if my mathematics serve me well that might be seen as a 40% return on investment. maybe. it has been some time since i worked with percentages and that.

just how, what, where or why should i invest my pension "windfall"? well, that is already done. at the branch (supermarket) where i cashed in my policy, they had a rather tempting other, similar but different investment to lure me with.

it was so, then, that £3 of my £3.50 pension more or less immediately got invested in this splendid, and seemingly specifically curated from royalty free recordings, 3 CD set of The King, Elvis Presley performing select songs from motion pictures which were blessed with His presence.

as it happens, i really enjoy verk anyway, so it is not like i am in all that much of a rush to retire. besides, with all scientific evidence available to date proving conclusively that i am immortal, perhaps retirement shall just never be for me.




be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

a fleeting glimpse, out of the corner of my eye

hi there


one of those sentimental hygiene nostalgia posts, look you see. as opposed to one of them future legend things, i guess, but i shall try to use my powers of fortune telling soon for a post. anyway, you have been soundly and routinely warned.

there are some moments which kind of live on, be it in heart or mind or whatever it is that gives us some inexplicable intrinsic subconscious wish and will to survive, perpetuating as "memories" until, well, until we know no more of life. incidents which, if Life On Mars (proper English original, not USA remake) were true, *** SPOILER WARNING *** then most of us would also be looking of a big building to run right off of the top of so we may live them again forever.

i am fortunate enough to have several such experiences. one, the most curiously compelling, was a sun fading afternoon into evening spell of just jumping from some form of wooden structure into a river, or lake, or body of water, again and again in some long since forgotten place in Australia. just the feeling of it makes it a sentiment to remain.

and, with us here north of the equator being fundamentally in autumn, another such moment comes to mind.

yes, truly, with the ever decreasing amount of daylight giving a clue to such, it is the presence of conkers which makes autumn so. for those unaware, conkers are (i suppose) chestnuts off of horse chestnut trees. a quite popular thing to do was to soak them in vinegar, drill a hole though the centre, tie some string through the hole and then use it, quasi-weapon style, to twat the similar fashioned conkers of your mates at school.

but of course it is so that "the kids" do not really do this much any more. partially this would be down to assorted school "bans", with the safety of children now being something considered worthwhile, which it decidedly was not in my youth. also, and in fairness, "the kids" are off on technology wasteland missions these days, far too distracted for such simple pleasures as what conkers offer.

to tell the truth i was never all that bothered about conkers. for a start, i seldom, if ever, had the patience to let them soak in vinegar overnight. also, my aim was generally terrible (i didn't have smart assassin glasses frames then), so it is not like i particularly enjoyed the game or sport.

what i do recall fondly, however, is one autumn evening gathering these sought after conkers. it was in a wood by a farm, with classical, traditional "what's an environmental concern?" orange street lights making partial vision possible. myself (obviously), Mum, my sister and indeed my brother roamed around and in between the trees, gathering up bags full of them.

it was so that we probably spent less than an hour doing this. the feeling, though, is that we did this perpetually, forever. perhaps that's a result of it being an experience never far from my mind, especially not when the season for it all is here, back.

of course there is a temptation to go and redo or recreate it, maybe taking the boys out to gather them up. it would, of course, not be the same, and nor would i wish it to be, for as far as we are aware life is supposed to be lived forwards not backwards.

right, let me let you get on with this autumn business, then. or indeed that spring / summer thing should you happen to be reading this south of the equator.



be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

houses in motion

g'day


there are certain sights, look you see, that (which?) one would only reasonably expect to see in quite specific parts of the world.

one such thing is that thing which they seem to do in America. specifically, that thing they do where they appear to build a house in one place, then elect to transport it to a different location. or, i suppose, it could be that they simply move the house to a new location from where it was, for reasons that are not too clear but are probably all aesthetics or cultural.

it was with some surprise, then, that i got a video off of my sister showing this very act, as it were, happening. and all of this was whilst my sister was not in America, where one would reasonably expect to see such, but in her (now, i suppose) native New Zealand.

do i think it is possible that them there in New Zealand are doing this as a means of embracing the American approach to such matters? not really, but i suppose it could be that just as much as it is them doing it to spite Australians in some peculiar way. my sister offered no explanation, and in truth i did not solicit one. sometimes things are better accepted as just being.

ooh, have we got a video? yes, we have got a video.

undoubtedly there are at least one or two of you out there who have an interest in this sort of thing. should that be you, then i trust the video above has been of some interest. in truth, i, too was quite taken by the improbable logistics of it all.

would i ever consider commissioning the relocation of a house, or similar structure, from one place to another? i really don't see any circumstance under which that would be a presented option. mostly, i would assume that whilst the ambivalent extravagance of such an action has obvious, latent appeal, no, probably not.


be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i like to watch

hi there


when the subject of the sentimental hygiene of nostalgia comes up, i, look you see, am always fondly remembered of an Ian Brown out of The Stone Roses quote. well, perhaps not quote as such, but the answer he gave to a question. he was once asked if the band "felt like they were influenced by the past", to which Mr Brown gave the considered response "well, we are not going to be influenced by the future, are we?".

some parts of us cling to our past, unless it is just me. maybe it is, but the lucrative nostalgia market which exists in so many different fields suggests not. which explains some of the ways in which i came to take ownership (custodianship?) of an ex-rental VHS copy of the film Body Double.

this is, but of course, a film i have spoken of before here on this blog. and in other places, but nowhere else that i can recall did i add a (should i be able to say so) splendid video celebrating the music of the film what i made. if that is of interest to you, then here's the link for it.

just, or exactly, why have i gone ahead and obtained this rather infamous film on VHS? or got it on tape once more, since but of course i did have it many a year ago. yes, this was absolutely one of the first films i "upgraded" to DVD once that technology came along, and then to Blu Ray, with that coming in the form of a birthday gift from my (considerably) better half. much (or most) of this post will probably be a meandering look at why, or well why not, but in short i am fast coming to the conclusion that some films are just meant to be watched on video.

in order to best complement, or celebrate, my obtaining of Body Double in its ex-rental VHS form, i felt compelled to make an addition to my wardrobe. after some searching, i found this one.

yes, indeed, that is Christian Bale as Patrick Bateman out of American Psycho. whilst not really explored in the film as such, in the (dislocating, to say the least) novel, the protagonist was somewhat obsessed with the film Body Double, apparently choosing to rent it repeatedly rather than just purchase it, or make an illicit copy.

my recollections of reading American Psycho for the first time were that i was more troubled by Bateman's passion for Body Double more than any of the graphic, obscene, disturbing or grotesquely pornographic other elements. i did wonder, and partly worry, about what it said of me that i loved this film just as much as this deeply upsetting protagonist. well, that is how i would like to paint the picture, i suppose. really, in truth, i felt an inexplicable sense of justification and vindication in celebrating the movie, for here was someone else that also did. that perhaps does not say much good about me, except honesty.

for what reason, or how, did i come to encounter this film in the first instance, particularly when i was of an age at which the bbfc believed i should not watch such? me and a good friend rented it, one night when we had the house to ourselves for reasons long forgotten. there were a number of reasons why two relatively close to teenage lads would wish to see it, but this was 1984 or 1985, and the main wish to watch was right there promoted on the box artwork.

quite. whether it was 1984 or 1985 (i am all but certain 84, making this the 35th year of celebration of this film), having Frankie Goes To Hollywood in a film was an instantly sold selling point, to me and many others. actually this remains a massive selling point to me, but perhaps not so many others these days. which is a shame, but so it goes.

by the time the sell thru video market came along in the late 80s and early 90s, and indeed by the stage at which digital discs came to be the way to distribute films, Frankie were, alas, not that much of a selling point. it is so, then, that this original edition ex-rental is the only way to take ownership of the original artwork in which the importance of Frankie Goes To Hollywood being in it is rightly announced and promoted.

another reason for being able to encounter this film when i did was an unusually bold move by the movie industry. by 1984 (or 85) (i am certain 84 because of the lack of an official bbfc certificate on the tape), that home video was here to stay had been accepted. rather than moan about the "loss" of box office, one studio clocked that some people might just wish to prefer to watch a movie at home rather than the cinema. it was so, then, that Body Double was the first "major" film in the UK to be released on home rental video at the same time as it was given a theatrical run. i know this because i can remember Barry Norman discussing it on Film 84 (or 85 if i am terribly mistaken).

just why, in 2019 (or whenever you are reading this), is there a market for VHS tapes, in particular ex-rental ones? lots of reasons, but three in particular. broadly, the market is for "nostalgia", for film collectors wanting movies never released "digitally" and for those who never, ever left the market.

it's worth keeping in mind that for all three the number one prize is to find an ex-rental copy of a film. why is that? better quality. sell thru tapes were made cheap, using lower quality tape, and were designed only to hold up for a dozen or so plays. rental tapes were intended to be played hundreds of times, and so were produced on higher quality video. also, whilst this digital age free for all makes it feel like absolutely everything ever made is available instantly, not so. it is estimated that somewhere north or south of 50% of all titles released on video cassette have not made it to any digital format, be it disc or download. why not? either no market or just a mess of ownership and distribution rights.

as for the other group in the market, well, why not. some just love the aesthetics of video. this is as much the handling of a tape as watching the film itself. sure, "digital" is all nice and crisp (hello, Faye) and clean, but not all films benefit from this. many films were always intended to be watched in a raw, not pristine version. usually this would be horror stuff, but then i suppose Body Double would fall into that category for some. many.

yeah, that is a non-Commodore 64 mode image of my rather smart new t-shirt, for you, the people. i figured that someone out there somewhere would want this to use as an "avatar" or profile picture for something somewhere, presumably a social network thing, so there you go. far be it from me to tell people what to do, but i would suspect this is not a wise one to use on them "dating" things. although doing so might attract some interesting people.

do i really need to add a review, or overview, of Body Double here? probably not, no. it should really go without saying that i, rightly or wrongly (that is for someone else not me to decide) absolutely love, cherish and treasure the film. and yet no, of course this is not a film which would be to the tastes of all. far from it.

would it be fair to say that i consider either my VHS or Body Double collection are now complete? not really, not really, not really, no. in respect of the film itself, there's at least two items i would still wish to get. they are a physical copy of the soundtrack, and some uber deluxe special edition of the film which comes in a fancy book or box.

as for VHS tapes, i suspect i shall only stop being interested in them when i grow tired of finding the obscure and the obscene in life. that does not strike me as something likely to draw to a close any time soon, but you never know.

right, well, that is probably just about it on this subject, for now. i have every confidence that the subject of Body Double, and VHS for that matter, shall return to these pages once more at some stage.



be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

dodged a bullet

hello there


some of the more regular readers, as well as select friends and family, look you see, will know that i quite recently selected some new spectacles (glasses frames) for my routine, regular visual requirements. other than my usual D-Fens out of Falling Down style frames, i purchased some what look like those boss ones what assassins and similar hitmen used to wear in classy 70s and 80s movies.

there has been an unexpected, and some (certainly not all) would say unfortunate consequence to my selection of smart 70s assassin style glasses. other than making me look absolutely badass, as i believe the saying goes, it seems i have attracted the attention of other, or if you will actual assassins.

yes, indeed, it would seem that one of them tried to "take me out", so to speak. they failed, hence me being able to write this.

quite an impressive attempt too, really. the above shows where the assassin's bullet penetrated a fourth floor window, or a window on the fourth storey of a building, whichever is the correct way of saying it. i would imagine that the would be assassin, or failed assassin i guess, was some distance away, so as to secure a speedy exit.

why, exactly, would someone wish to have me assassinated? i have no idea. there are probably several reasons one could think of, but i would have thought that the expense of hiring someone to actually do it would not have been worth it. not for the first time in my life, i am wrong, going on the evidence to hand.

oh, sure, yes. there will be many who would address the above with "well, why would you not arrange to have him (me, moi) assassinated if you could?". i am terribly sorry if i have upset someone all that much, but also i would have thought they risked turning me into a martyr in regards of whatever it was i did that caused such displeasure.

a bit of a risky close up there, then. you can see relatively clearly that an assassination attempt was somewhat anticipated, for that special reinforced "shatter proof" glass was fitted for just such an instance. but, even then, with the right (or possibly wrong) sort of bullet, well. evidence tends to speak.

exactly how was i able to avoid my own demise at the hand of an assassin? there are certain aspects of this which for numerous reasons i cannot disclose. one of the main ways, however, would be (with rather deft skill) the simplicity of not happening to be there when the would be (failed) assassin chose to strike. quite fortunate.

how has this episode affected me? not much, in truth. one cannot let such as the assassins win. there is no way that i am going to stop (or cease) wearing my boss 70s / 80s hitman / assassin frames, not that i wear them all that often. if i did that, then victory would be in the hands of those who seek to stop me. why someone would wish to, i know not.

let me get on with living my life, then, whilst i still appear to have it. i would not wish to say that this is in defiance of those who would try to assassinate me, rather just how it is. under the rules and regulations of the English way of doing things i am obliged to wish the assassins better luck with their next attempt, but this feels not quite right.



be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

my light shines on

hey there


just an update for those who like the regularity of certain elements happening (so to speak) on this blog, look you see. so, then, yes, this is an update on the possibly remotely remarkable £1 lightbulb i purchased a little while ago. well, a few years ago.

for those of you wondering just what the heck this is all about yet still feel compelled to read this, well, you may want to have a gander at this post from as recently as 2017. then also this one off of 2018. and now here we are in 2019.

so yes, to cut to the chase, indeed it is so that this bulb of mine works. it shines on, just as Bobby Gillespie once so eloquently sang. and here, in the greater glory and the grand goodness of Commodore 64 mode, it is.

well, there it is behind the lampshade of course, but patience. it shall be shown later on. but, if you are in a rush, then please scroll down. i could not stop such and would not wish to.

there were warnings when i commenced showcasing this lightbulb. i was rather quite taken with the vintage style and design of it, the aesthetics more than compensating for the fact that it was not particularly bright. some warned me, however. not for my bourgeois lifestyle enabling me to splash an entire £1 on a bulb. some friends and contemporaries were more concerned that a Poundland bulb might cause a minor fire, or not last too long.

in respect of the latter, well, i would suggest that somewhere north or south of three years means that the bulb has indeed lasted a fair while. value for money has been attained, and probably was about a year ago, max. with regards to the bulb exploding, or in some other way causing a fire, so far as i have noticed this has not happened.

beyond the general concerns that a lightblub procured (purchased) from Poundland was bound to instantly burst into flames on use, some comments were made to me about how it was probably not going to be "energy efficient". well, i am not exactly sure how the economies of scale work, but as far as i can see my £1 investment has given me a bulb which has lasted somewhere north or south of three years (and counting), with no discernible difference to my electricity bill. so, there.

some of you shall want less words, more "animated gif in Commodore 64 mode" sort of things here. for those of you who are so inclined, here you go.

for some reason there are some of you who may wish to see this long lasting, cost efficient lightbulb of vintage qualities not presented in Commodore 64 mode. i can think of no good reason at all why someone would wish such, but here you are.

yes, i did indeed take one of those yellow cloth duster things to it before taking the picture. as i recall it was no, i did not do that the last time i updated on the status of the bulb.

anyway, there really is only so much one can say on the subject of lightbulbs, and i believe that i have said far more than that finite amount.



be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

something of a whoops well why not day of release

howdy pop pickers


a little while ago, as opposed to some date in the future, look you see, there was a trifle of fanfare concerning a specific Beatles album. mostly the fanfare emanated from the BBC, with Radio 2 in particular getting all excited about the 50th anniversary of the bands' penultimate release yet final recording together, Abbey Road. it is so that on my travels i frequently hear Radio 2, and so as a consequence i heard of their celebrations.

going further, it was so that on my travels i happened to be at a non-traditional seller of music (in this instance one of them supermarket places) on the day of release for the obligatory "anniversary edition" of this particular album. whereas i knew that i had both this album and all others the band cared to release sat at home, i felt compelled to purchase this edition. part of this would be from a compulsion to spend, part of this would be as a direct result of hearing the celebrations of the album, mostly, though, i would like to think it came down to it being an attractive £7 in cost. that and you can never ever have enough copies of Here Comes The Sun in your life.

so, i purchased, then. observing the cover sticker, i felt i could safely do so with justification, for it promised that this anniversary edition was a "new mix".

on arrival from home and after attending to a few obligatory or otherwise expected matters, i gave this "new mix" of Abbey Road a play. in doing so, i knew that which was always known. that which has never been a secret, but also that which is not spoken of. a harsh truth, especially in the face of it being generally accepted that all what The Beatles did was genius, is that Abbey Road is a mediocre to terrible album, somehow managing to be substantially less than the sum of its parts.

much of the (quite correct) legend of The Beatles, as in why they are held in such high esteem (and shall always rightly be) is built on the foundation of the great Lennon-McCartney songwriting. something of a warning sign, then, is that the two best (by some distance) songs on Abbey Road come from the pen of George Harrison in the form of Here Comes The Sun and the magnificent Something. beyond those two, you get the simplistic popularity of Come Together, the (admittedly) fun of Ringo with Octopus' Garden, and two bits of The End, specifically the quasi iconic "love you take" line and that boss 'du-du-du-duuuuuu-du' guitar. even then, in respect of the latter, that boss guitar bit sounds much better when Beastie Boys sampled it on Paul's Boutique.

for the most part the remainder of the album feels like what we call "filler". half decent ideas that have been hastily put together with the focus feeling very much like the view was "this will do". it is not like i am being controversial or trying to stir things up by saying so, as the reviews at the time pretty much said the same. as years (fifty of them) have fallen it has been revisited, with many an apologist proclaiming it is just as genius as anything what The Beatles did. no, it is not.

as for the "new mix", well, be quite wary of when this is used as a plus, or a marketing tool. refer, if you will, to Spinal Tap, where a possible fault with a record was, according to some Australian's nightmare, that it "wasn't mixed in dobly". such does not change the songs too much. creating a "new mix" effectively means someone coming in and saying "let's make the guitar a bit more crisp (hello, Faye) here", or "why don't we turn down the drums on this part".

but let it not be said that there is no good reason to celebrate Abbey Road. the cover, after all, is easily one of the most iconic in rock history. as in, if one did a poll, or survey, or critical objective analysis of all record covers ever devised and created, i would suggest Abbey Road is easily top ten, possibly top three. other than the fun they had with the imagery in terms of the long running "Paul is dead" joke, it is worth remembering one of the reasons this cover exists is sheer laziness. an early idea for the album title was Everest, but as the band could not be bothered to travel to the mountain for a suitable image, something closer to home seemed agreeable.

that Abbey Road marks the last time the four Beatles were in a studio making new music together is also full worthy of commemoration. whilst everything about that music says it was high time for them to go their own ways, the fact that the world lost something special does not change.

do i regret this purchase? not really. as mentioned above, there are songs on here worth owning again and again. further, there are some lovely essays in the booklet, including one by Sir Paul himself. mindful of it being a record i already had, i still feel that i have taken at least £7 value from this purchase.

this has got me thinking, though - which other albums out there are likely to get a celebration on the instance of their 50th anniversary? any, i suppose, but i mean more which ones would be justified? if the criteria is impact at the time or in retrospect on society far wider than "just" the music and its target market, off the top of my head Bowie's Ziggy Stardust, Fleetwood Mac's Rumours, U2's The Joshua Tree and Automatic For The People by REM are candidates. with all things being equal, i may yet still be alive for 50% of those indicated. not that this list is intended to be definitive, far from it.

so, do i say to anyone rush out and buy Abbey Road, just north of fifty years after its release? if all you are bothered about is the music, then easily the best of the songs here are on that Blue album from the Red and Blue "best of" sets. but, then again, this is a record from a time when album covers were works of art, and it is lovely to hold and admire.




be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

foreign object fun denied

hi there


it is an uncommonly universal truth, look you see, that anyone travelling away from home for even the slightest period of time shall, upon arrival at their proposed destination, wish to seek a moment of pleasurable respite via the conduit of disposing foreign objects via less conventional means. this has always been so, and one would have taken it as a given that it always should be.

not so, it would appear. here we stand in enlightened times, in which apparently it is our collective fault that the so-called super intelligent dolphins are too stupid not to have clocked that they have no business feasting on plastic. as such, in being forced into this responsibility, we simply cannot go around having fun with foreign objects and the disposal of them thereof in ways which are as enjoyable as they are irresponsible. sometimes it is good just to cut loose.

on my arrival (rather than slightly before) at a suitable hotel recently, then, upon checking in i rushed to do precisely what anyone would have done. yes, i in an expedited and excited way, rushed to unpack my toothbrush and headed to the bathroom facilities, keen to get this tooth cleansing contraption flushed away as soon as possible.

by my word, and for all that i could see, this was to be denied. as you can see, and yes you are not mistaken that is surely Commodore 64 mode, of the many (four) items classed as foreign objects you are given as examples which you may not "throw down" the "wc" (Frenchie for toilet, i believe), emphasis is placed on a toothbrush. what, i wonder, is it that they think a toothbrush is for if not to be thrown into the toilet?

just, or exactly, how many toothbrushes have been thrown down toilets to prompt the idea that printing signs telling people not to do such is a viable business opportunity is an interesting question. for the record, no, i have not (to the best of my knowledge) ever thrown, placed or dropped a toothbrush into a toilet. it makes little sense, to me, to do so.

perhaps this is another incident, or episode, of the "them and us" divide which exists between that there london and the rest of our fair nation. we know that the people of london are both committed too and passionate about flushing anything they can get their hands on down toilets, for we are regularly treated to urgent news updates, and articulate documentaries, about how their sewage system is quite knacked as a consequence of their enthusiasm. as we get no such information from other areas of the country, we can only conclude that either this happens just in london, or them what make the news and documentaries and that simply do not care about anywhere else.

yes, there is great danger with their choice of wording here. how, for instance, does one define "throw"? this could reasonably interpreted that the act of throwing a toothbrush into a toilet is what in itself causes the damage, so gently placing one in there could be seen as an acceptable practice.

i am quietly confident that i have now written all which i possibly could on this subject. you will note that i have stopped well short of declaring this restriction as being evidence of "political correctness gone mad", but note that i could not fault those who pursue this particular line of thinking. even if they are wrong to do so.

please think about the dolphins (and other less popular aquatic life), and indeed the environment, then, before you go flushing toothbrushes down toilets, no matter how much fun this act apparently is.




be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

thou shalt not mix the grain and the grape

hello there

if there is one thing that can said to be true, and evidence of this exists right across this blog, then it would be that there are many subjects and topics about which i know very little to quite close to next to nothing on. whereas i am far from being in solitude in this, i am, look you see, one of those limited types prepared to accept it. 

but, that said, whenever there is something of consequence or passing resemblance to interesting that i can pass on or put out there, then on here on this blog it goes. a random sighting on my travels has prompted this particular chapter. 

the subject, or topic, in this instance is the potentially enjoyable but frequently murky subject of alcohol abuse. whereas i am not so much of a drinker these days it was the case that i was young, once, and enjoyed the odd tipple. my experiences with such let me learn a thing or two. 

much, presumably, like you, i was quite dismayed by what i saw above. no, not the general proclivity to litter, or the enhanced nature of Commodore 64 mode. in an immediate sense, it is the wanton mixing of sauces, or if you like drinks, which causes me distress.

the title of this post is solid advice. if you are going to hit the pop, whether whilst on the lash, sat at home alone or in one of our many areas of natural beauty, then limiting the hangover and limiting the potential for long term damage is best achieved by limiting the mixing of drinks.

should you find yourself in a social circumstance where mixing is advocated and expected, then there is another saying a good friend taught me. that saying is if you drink beer then wine, you're fine, if you drink wine then beer, oh dear. make sure you step up, not down in the volume of alcohol in the drinks you are decking, then you should limit the morning after damage as far as possible. but know that there will be damage.

no, the above is not really directly related per se, but i had no idea where to put this image. apparently signs like this are coming to be, or becoming, quite the norm. this is causing my chum Spiros some not inconsiderable distress. regular readers will be aware that one of his great passions in life is that of forming short term, yet mutually beneficial, friendships with like minded gents in public restroom facilities. he sees this sort of sign as an intrusion on his privacy, and plans to take legal action.

as it happens, though, Spiros is quite the master, or if you like sensei, in the administration of the general observance, or message, of this post. he, and his liver (or what remains of it) are testament to what happens when you recklessly mix drinks. i know this as i personally oversaw an instance where he drank every possible alcoholic infused drink you can imagine, all at once, and with an umbrella in the tankard. the doctors intimated that he was a bit of a silly billy, that he was f*****g lucky not to have died of alcohol poisoning, and that he should not do it again.

even, however, at his most reckless, when Sprios was giving me tacit signals to go right ahead and totally trash his liver, it did not occur to me, or him, to add into the mix what this wild one was knocking back.

whilst hammering the stella makes sense, and is indeed a quite common site across our lands, drinking it with the possibly quite higher alcohol levels found in mobil engine oil does not strike me as a particularly good idea.

i cannot speak from experience, for as far as i am aware i have never ever tasted the mobil oil in this way. no doubt at some stage a vehicle i have driven has been beautified with such, but not me personally. let me go further and say that no temptation has ever presented itself for me to drink of it, or any sort of engine oil. it may well be that i have a pint proper beer from time to time, but that is about it.

right, anyway, if there is a lesson in all of this, may someone have taken the time to learn it, or take heed. in short, though, perhaps do not try to drink mobil oil.



be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

car wash in a commodore mode once more

hey there


my apologies, then. i am aware that many of you only check here for more examples of a car wash working presented in commodore 6 mode, look you see. this is something i have not given any new examples of for a while. let me remedy such.

again, just about as is the case with all posts on this particular subject, i really do not understand the fascination or interest with this. that, also, is all of consequence that i have to say on the topic too, but i will find a few words to put around the pictures for your pleasure.

yes, the above is one of the early aspect parts of the car wash experience. if phase one is paying to use the car wash facility and manoeuvring your vehicle, or if you have a sense for the theatrical and dramatic chariot, into position, then it could be said that the commencement of the car or vehicle wash signifies phase two. probably. well, i have never really sat and thought about it, or charted it, or mapped it out.

for a number of you the still image, being of them soft brush things, just will not be enough. i understand and appreciate this. to show this understanding and appreciation, here you go, one of them "animated gif" things, of course in Commodore 64 mode, partially showing them soft brush things doing their thing. kind of.

we, at the time of writing, are approaching autumn and, as a subsequent consequence, winter. that means that this could be the last car wash, in Commodore 64 mode or any other variation, post for the year. not because vehicles ("cars") do not get washed during winter or autumn, of course, but rather because the lighting in darker days may not be what is required for optimal car wash documenting and recording.

this is of course subject to change. at the moment the much cherished fourth estate, the newspapers, are predicting both the hottest autumn for like totes forever, in which we all may well burn to death, as well as, like, the coldest ever winter, in which we shall all freeze to death. both of these have drawbacks, for sure, but they also give every indication that maybe there shall be enough light to allow for some decent images to be taken. we shall see.

above are some of them soft brushes again. they might be the same ones, only set vertically instead of horizontally. or, in these crazy selfie days, portrait instead of landscape. from what i recall these are the ones which do a bit of drying, or "buffing", to the vehicle after the other ones have spread some soapy water, or water with soap in it, over the exterior.

how about, at the risk of sounding like a former football manager turned pundit, resplendent in a sheepskin coat, i "mix it up" a bit and present you something a little bit different? yes, another of them Commodore 64 mode "animated gif" things, but no, not a forward facing one as has become the standard.

yes, a partially exciting "side view" of the car wash for you. this represents one of the windows, and indeed one of the wing mirrors, being washed. some of you, with a keen eye and a passion for attention to detail, shall have observed the vertical ("portrait") brush thingie visible, or if you will reflected, in the previously (as in just now) mentioned mirror.

going beyond car washing services but remaining in the realm of vehicles, have i, as the kids of today say it (i think), pimped my ride at all? why, yes. not in the way that i would have before, such as sheepskin steering wheel covers or smart driving gloves, but a more mature, sophisticated and by that i mean subtle way.

presumably you don't need me to tell you what exactly you are looking at above, but for the sake of clarification, yes, a "silver" like dust cap has been placed on one of them fiddly bits where you put the air and that into the tyres. i dropped the original black ("noir") one as i was doing the latter part of the previous sentence, but noted a shiny silver one right there as i looked for it.

as far as i am concerned this new dust cap is made out of that same sort of futuristic chrome titanium steel stuff what they make the terminators out of, and indeed robocop's smart outfit. well, proper robocop of course, and not that horrible, rubbish remake. when them terminators turn up from the future, they will know not to mess with me and my wheels. that is the plan.

right, well, there you go. for all of you who for some reason enjoy this kind of thing, may many moments of pleasure have been extracted.



be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

fair six

hey there


and so it was, recently as opposed to the future, look you see, the instance of the much celebrated annual fair in a village (rather more of a town, i suppose) not so far away from us. it is a tradition, or if you like rite, to attend; one that i am strongly an advocate of.

this has been the sixth such occasion of this celebrated event since we took the choice to move home, hence the title. for family and friends reading this, yes, as of last year it was so that James is of an age where he is now totes too cool to hang around with his Mum and Dad at such a thing, opting instead to go with his mates. before long the same shall be true of William, of course, but not right now.

just a few pictures and videos, then. despite my unsolicited status as some sort of "social media influencer", at heart i really do believe moments (for the most part) should be lived, and not relentlessly recorded for the tale to tell. but yes, it is lovely to give friends and family around the globe an update on how we are, if they are of such a mind to have such an interest.

indeed, the evidence does not lie, my (considerably) better half attended once more this year. as i recall, a combination of being a trifle under the weather and tremendously busy with verk related matters meant her absence was noted last year, or if you like the year before.

what, exactly, is the fair? pretty much what it says on the box. each year those of a more nomadic lifestyle are invited to bring their fancy rides, games of chance and other such fairground attractions to a closed off big street for somewhere north of 60% of a week, so that they may earn coins of money for their displays in exchange for the provision of entertainment. a win-win model of economics, in truth.

the timing of this is, as many in the northern hemisphere shall be aware, just as summer is giving up on being a thing and autumn is winning the fight. i suppose this is timed to give all and sundry a most triumphant celebration of a successful summer, one in which the crops did not fail, one that gives all a chance to appreciate community and being outside prior to the isolar hibernation encouraged by the coming winter.

yes, a quasi but rather more sadly all too rare selfie of my (considerably) better half and i. we drift in and out, the demands and challenges of what we must attend with what time we have generally dictates not so much time together at places where selfies make sense. such is how these things go.

one of the interesting things about that is a fascinating or possibly natural change. when we went on arrival home to the first few fairs it was i who perpetually bumped in to people there that i knew, often well. at this most recent event, not one familiar made themselves known to me, whereas my (considerably) better half could not take more than a handful of steps without being stopped and approached by a friend or colleague. not really a reversal of fortune, i would think, but perhaps a circle has been completed. i took my family to the place i considered home but was in essence a new land to them; now it is well and truly a home of their own. oh.

enough sentimental hygiene, indeed, and on to the business end of the fair. well, some of it.

my (considerably) better half and William are indeed looking upwards. also, others are. this is not for reasons random, or for no apparent reason. instead they are beholding what might be considered the centrepiece of the fair, since it was the most massive ride on the grounds. well, starting on the ground but going most decidedly up to the sky.

the basic premise of any showground ride is that it should give you an adrenaline rush of such nature you feel exuberant and very much alive. for the most part this is achieved by moving or if you like throwing you around a bit, so that you feel in danger or some form of peril, with the euphoria kicking in when you are alive.

which is precisely what i would imagine anyone who braved this and walked away from it had a rather keen sense of.

no i did not go on this one, or any such similar. my physique, which is not quite as well honed or maintained as some of the images of moi may suggest, tends to make participating on such rides quite uncomfortable. as for the fear factor, well, to this moment in time it is scientific fact that i am actually immortal, since no science has proven that i can die, so it would provide little adrenaline anyway. but, yes, once i would have engaged in such entertainment.

to challenges of skill and chance, then. many, of course, believe that such booths at such fairs are nothing more than a ruse or a con, with dishonest practices by those nomadic lifestyle types making it impossible to win. perhaps, maybe, but such kind of misses the point. i would think engaging in the challenge is the entertainment and value for money. to this end, if you really wanted a massive and presumably stuffed teddy bear, then you might want to consider going to a suitable retailer and simply purchasing one, rather than resting all hope of taking ownership on your ability to twat a coconut off of a stand or a hoop off of a bottle.

here you go with the above, then, my (considerably) better half having a go at taking a hoop off of a bottle via the conduit of a rather tasty shooter, resplendent with a gas propelled cork as the projectile.

the shooter lifestyle is still relatively alien to the English way of doing things, and delightfully so. in real terms, the only people to actually have firearms here are farmers, select members of the constabulary, certain criminal types and one or two highly motivated types who harbour nationalistic ambitions. you don't see people just wandering around with them, then, and they certainly don't have, for example, gun safes for patrons at coffee shops, which has not always been the case in all the places that we have lived.

so, they are for the most part a bit unusual and exotic here, shooters are. which meant that William relished having a go with one, squeezing the trigger whilst having a curious sense of dispensing justice on some hoops placed on bottles.

i particularly like how he holds and handles the shooter very much in an 80s Schwarzenegger / Terminator style, for as far as i am aware he has not seen such splendid visual entertainment.

bringing together numerous elements of what i have written on the subject of games of chance, we could not help but notice that William had a different approach to this than was expected. rather than attempt to hit a hoop and take it from the bottle, he appeared to aim solely at the bottles themselves. perhaps this was a deft technique intended to disrupt the stand and see the hoop tumble, but we suspect it was more to do with seeing if he could cause shattered glass.

how about a nice video of William trying another game of skill? no prize in this one, so not really much chance of corruption. it was an attraction, however, that does enable one to showcase the fact that they are quite the hard man.

whilst i am no expert, his technique is interesting. in respect of how this would fare against the greatest of boxers, i would be confident that William would totally lamp Apollo, Clubber and Drago. sadly i would suspect it might fall short against Thunderlips of the piece of iron himself, Balboa.

did i go on any of the rides or similar attractions at all? yes, as it happens, i had a crack at the bumper cars, or if you like dodgems. quite reminiscent of downtown jozi driving, only with the availability of items to purchase at traffic lights and the risk of getting shot all removed, to various degrees of disappointment.

for some reason there are one or two of you who do quite like to see me here. i shall take it as a given that this is down to a really out of the ordinary sense of aesthetics, or that you simply like to refresh what you use on your dartboard, or if in a shooter friendly nation perhaps a target sheet. anyway, here you go.

indeed, i probably do need to trim my beard somewhat. and yes, as per the earlier image, i chose to wear my rather smart 70s style b-grade movie hitman or assassin glasses. just for fun.

well, anyway, that be that for another year. shall there be a seventh such post, around about this time next year? so long as the science referred to above remains true i see no reason why not. for now, though, it is maybe time to build the barricades and prepare for what could be a most unusual winter. well, barricades except for the parts where i go out, which shall be daily.



be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!